Adamah Farm CSA of West Hartford offers Composting, Helps Community for five years

Adamah Farm CSA of West Hartford offers Composting, Helps Community for five years

Posted by mlhobbies, Community Contributor

A sample share of veggies from the CSA's 2014 season.

A sample share of veggies from the CSA's 2014 season. (Posted by mlhobbies, Community Contributor)

Community Contributor mlhobbies

News Release - West Hartford, CT - February 11, 2015The Adamah Farm CSA of West Hartford is announcing a new member benefit for its fifth season: composting at the pickup site!They have partnered with Blue Earth Compost to provide weekly pickups of compostable kitchen waste. During a trial at the end of the 2014 season, members recycled 463 pounds of kitchen waste, mostly vegetable matter, into compost. While some members have gardens and do their own composting, others do not."We had an immediate and very positive response when we offered the pickup at the end of last season," said Margo Lynn Hablutzel, a member of the CSA's Core Group who maintains its website and internet presence. "Blue Earth doesn't pick up in my town and since I live in a condo, I have no way to compost or to use it. This is a terrific benefit to me and has reduced my trash substantially."At the Thursday distributions, CSA volunteers noticed that some members immediately added the stalks or outer leaves of some vegetables, such as cauliflower or broccoli, that they did not plan to eat. Others brought in eggshells, coffee grounds, and "the last portion of soup that nobody in the family wants" to contribute to the container. Blue Earth supplies at-home containers for the CSA members to use, for a small fee, or members can use their own containers, as long as plastic bags and bleached paper are not included in the contribution.Adamah Farm CSA, formerly Jewish Local Greens CSA, asked Blue Earth Compost to donate compost to Jessie's Community Gardens on behalf of the CSA and its members. The gardens were founded in 2010 by the family of Jessica Lynn Kostin to celebrate her life by combining growing vegetables with social awareness and to serve the community as an education tool, a community-building activity and a therapeutic outlet for volunteers and others.Registration has begun for the 2015 season. Adamah Farm sends the vegetables on Thursday afternoons, and once a month the farmers bring jams, pickles, and other specialty items to sell to CSA members or anybody who wants to purchase a treat. The pickles are lacto-fermented without vinegar, which is reputed to provide health benefits.Members can choose weekly or alternate-weeks pickups running from mid-June until almost Thanksgiving, one of the longest CSA seasons in the Hartford area. All of the vegetables are organically grown, and the farm offers many unusual varieties such as romanesco, kohlrabi, watermelon radishes, and tomatoes, carrots, and potatoes in multiple colors. For those unfamiliar with how to prepare some of the vegetables, the CSA's website offers recipes each week and the farm provides storage and cooking tips as well.The CSA also donates vegetables to the community; the farmers send extras knowing they will go to those in need, which lets CSA members select the items they wish each week. Since the first CSA year, volunteers have delivered any leftover vegetables to the Kosher Food Pantry for distribution to its clients. In 2014, over 700 persons in families with children, singles, the elderly, and the disabled received fresh vegetables during the CSA season thanks to these donations.For more information, go to the CSA's website at: https://jewishlocalgreens.wordpress.com/

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